OUR GUEST: FILM AND THEATRE DIRECTOR, LMTA HONORARY DOCTOR KRZYSZTOF ZANUSSI
10 June 2025, Tuesday, 18:00
LMTA Campus Cinema Hall (Olandų 21A, Vilnius)
OUR GUEST: FILM AND THEATRE DIRECTOR, LMTA HONORARY DOCTOR KRZYSZTOF ZANUSSI
18:00 | Film screening: The Illumination (directed by Krzysztof Zanussi)
19:30 | Masterclass by Krzysztof Zanussi
Professor Krzysztof Zanussi is a film director, screenwriter, philosopher, and teacher. His creative path stands as a remarkable example of the synthesis between physics, philosophy, and cinema — a fusion that has imbued his films with exceptional intellectual depth.
Krzysztof Zanussi is among the most prominent filmmakers of the Cinema of Moral Anxiety movement. His films — such as The Illumination, The Constant Factor, Camouflage, and The Spiral — explore the intellectual’s place in the world, the struggle against injustice, raising fundamental ethical dilemmas. His later works, including From a Far Country, Ether, and A Year of the Quiet Sun, more openly reveal the metaphysical and spiritual dimensions of human existence.
Zanussi’s contribution cannot be confined to his creative work alone. He has been a key figure in shaping Europe’s independent cinema, co-founding the European Film Academy in the late 1980s alongside Ingmar Bergman and forty leading European filmmakers. Over the years, Zanussi has served as President of the European Federation of Audiovisual Performers, President of the Eurovision Association, a member of the Polish PEN-Club and the Association of Writers, Vice-President of Polish Public Television (TVP), and Professor at the University of Silesia in Katowice. He also serves as a consultant to the Pontifical Council for Culture at the Vatican and is a member of the European Film Academy. In 2006, Lithuania recognised Zanussi’s contributions by awarding him the Commander’s Cross of the Order for Merits to Lithuania.
Zanussi’s broad-mindedness, his generous mentorship, and his enduring faith in the younger generation have left an indelible mark on Lithuania. For over three decades, the cinematography students at the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre have had the privilege of learning from this master. Zanussi has opened not only his home but also his heart — welcoming Henrikas Šablevičius’ students in 1991 and, in 2019, working alongside our Academy’s master’s students and Professor Ramūnas Greičius as they explored the art of film in Warsaw.
In 2018, at the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre, Krzysztof Zanussi delivered a memorable series of lectures and seminars that have deeply inspired generations of film professionals. Many still carry with them Zanussi’s words, his example, and his vision of cinema as an ethical endeavour.
Krzysztof Zanussi stands as a symbol of cultural dialogue, affinity, and respect for diversity. His life’s work has enriched not only the art of cinematography but also the human capacity for compassion.
The event is free. We are looking forward to seeing you there.